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WINNING WITH THE WORD by Dr. MaryAnn Diorio “Winning with the Word” is a weekly blog that will help you to be a winner in life by applying God’s principles for living the abundant life as found in the Bible, God’s manual for life. AN INVITATION TO YOU: To follow this blog, click here.   If this blog has blessed you, please encourage your family and friends to subscribe as well. Thank you! ______________________________________ Do you prefer listening instead of reading? Then click below on the PODCAST LINK to today’s blog post: PODCAST: “ARE YOU READY FOR THE RAPTURE?” by Dr. MaryAnn Diorio ______________________________________   http://maryanndiorio.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/WWW.Podcast-23.-Are-You-Ready-for-the-Rapture_.mp3   We are living at a momentous time in history, a time when Jesus Christ could return at any moment to take his Church out of the world. This remarkable event whereby Jesus will instantaneously remove his followers from the earth is called the Rapture. As the Bible describes it, it will happen in the twinkling of an eye, in other words as fast as the blink of an eye. Interestingly, in Jewish tradition, the term the twinkling of an eye also refers to the sliver of the new moon that is seen on Rosh Hashanah, the Feast of Trumpets.  My question to you today is, are you ready for the Rapture? If Jesus Christ were to return today, would He take you to be with Him? Or would He leave you behind? This is a very serious question, and it is critically important that you be able to answer it in the affirmative. If you are not sure that you would be able to do so, then listen very closely. What I am going to discuss with you today could determine your eternal destiny. The Rapture of People out of the world According to the Bible, God's instruction manual for man, the day is coming when Jesus Christ will return to Earth to rule and reign for a period of 1000 years. This thousand-year period of time is referred to as the Millennium. About seven years prior to the second coming of Christ, however, He will appear in the sky and draw to Himself all those who have surrendered their lives to Him and who are living for Him. This event is called the Rapture and is described in 1 Thessalonians 4: 16-17:  "The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first, then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord." Those people who will be taken out of the world at that time are called the Church. The Church is comprised of all those who have been born again by accepting Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, and who are serving Him as their Lord at the time of the Rapture. These people alone will be considered the children of God, and therefore eligible to be removed from the earth and to see God. You see, while all people are the creations of God, only those who have been born again are the children of God. Two Scripture passages confirm this truth. The first is John 1: 12 that states: "But as many as received Him, to them, He gave the right to become children of God to those who believe in His Name." The second is John 3: 3 that says, "Unless a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." So those who have not been born again and who are not serving God at the time of the Rapture will be left behind. And they'll go through the worst period of suffering in the history of the world. This period of suffering is called the Tribulation and will make all previous wars combined look like a picnic. During this horrendous time of human suffering, the world will be under the rule of a dictator called the Antichrist. Many will believe him to be the Messiah when, indeed, he will be Satan incarnate. In other words, he will be a man totally possessed by Satan.